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3500 BCE
Wheel Invented in Mesopotamia
Wheels first appeared in ancient Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq. They were originally used by potters to help shape clay. Later, wheels were fitted to carts, which made moving objects around much easier. Some early wheels were solid disks of wood cut from tree trunks. -
2750 BCE
Egyptians build first known dam called the Sadd el-Kafara
Sadd el-Kafara ("Dam of the Infidels") was a masonry embankment dam on Wadi al-Garawi 10 km southeast of Helwan in Helwan Governorate, Egypt. The dam was built in the first half of the third millennium BC by the ancient Egyptians for flood control and is the oldest dam of such size in the world. -
2560 BCE
The Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt is finished
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest monument on the list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. ... The Great Pyramid of Giza was built for the Fourth Dynasty Pharaoh Khufu (or Cheops), and was completed around 2560 BCE. -
1754 BCE
The code of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian code of law of ancient Mesopotamia, dated to about 1754 BC. It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code. A partial copy exists on a 2.25-metre-tall stone stele. -
1650 BCE
Kingdom of Egypt falls apart
Nearly 300 years after Khufu's death, a 6-year-old became king of Egypt in 2278 B.C. Pepy II remained on the throne for an astounding 94 years. ... Then, 19 kings, including one woman, took and lost the throne in less than 25 years. By the end of this chaotic period in 2160 B.C., the Old Kingdom had completely collapsed. -
1350 BCE
Akhenaten introduces monotheism in Egypt
Akhenaten the Heretic 1352–1336 BC. Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten and defied tradition by establishing a new religion that believed that there is but one god; the sun god Aten. -
995 BCE
The Judean King David captures Jerusalem
About 3,000 years ago, King David conquered Jerusalem from the Jebusites and established the capital of his kingdom there. The city continued as the capital of the kingdom for 400 years, until its first destruction at the hands of the Babylonians in 586/7 BCE -
594 BCE
Solon attempt to create a new code of laws for Athens
Code of laws. Solon's third great contribution to the future good of Athens was his new code of laws. The first written code at Athens, that of Draco (c. ... Draco's laws were shockingly severe (hence the term draconian)—so severe that they were said to have been written not in ink but in blood. -
492 BCE
The Persian king Darius the Great invades Greece
Darius I (l. c. 550-486 BCE, r. 522-486 BCE), also known as Darius the Great, was the third Persian King of the Achaemenid Empire. ... Darius led military campaigns in Europe, Greece, and even in the Indus valley, conquering lands and expanding his empire. -
430 BCE
The Plague of Athens kills an estimated 300,000 people, among them Pericles
The Plague of Athens was an epidemic that devastated the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece during the second year of the Peloponnesian War (430 BC) when an Athenian victory still seemed within reach. The plague killed an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 people and is believed to ... After the death of Pericles, Athens was led by a succession of leaders
